Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Land Use Erosion Control topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Council holds public hearing and approves first reading of erosion control, stormwater text amendment A24-03
Summary
City Planner Tiffany Taylor presented proposed text amendments to the Astoria Development Code to clarify permit triggers and broaden exemptions for grading and erosion control; council held a public hearing and approved the ordinance’s first reading.
The City Council held a public hearing on a proposed development-code text amendment (A24‑03) to the erosion control and stormwater management sections of Article 3 and completed a first reading on March 17.
Planner Tiffany Taylor said the amendment narrows subjective language about when grading and erosion-control permits are required, clarifies objective triggers — for example, regulated activity within 100 feet of a river, bay, stream or wetland; activity exceeding 10 cubic yards; within 100 feet of a geologic hazard shown on Astoria’s current geologic hazard map; or disturbed area on slopes of 35 percent or greater — and broadens the list of exemptions for low-risk work (examples: fence-post holes, small borings under 4 cubic yards, decks under 30 inches above ground, emergency utility repairs under 20 cubic yards and similar low-risk activities).
Taylor told the council the Planning Commission held a public hearing Feb. 25 and recommended approval. Taylor said the code will now reference the city’s most current Astoria landslides geologic-hazard map (which incorporates DOGAMI data) and that a separate geologic‑hazard ordinance amendment will come later to decouple that component from the grading permit.
Councilors asked technical and enforcement questions. Councilor Davis questioned why some exemptions are measured by area (for example, landscaping up to 1,000 square feet) instead of displaced volume; City Engineer Nathan Crater and Planner Taylor explained application patterns and the division’s enforcement approach. Crater said staff may levy double application fees for work started without a permit and that the code retains a provision allowing hiring of independent geotechnical experts when necessary; Mr. Spence noted the municipal code also includes a standard penalty provision (up to $1,000) though imprisonment is rare.
Councilor Adams moved, and Councilor Lump seconded, that the council hold the first reading of proposed amendment A24‑03 to update erosion control and stormwater management portions of the development code. The motion passed on a roll call; council requested the first reading be read aloud and Finance Director Hillary Norton read the ordinance title.
